CRM Platforms technologies
CRM platforms,and when custom pays.
For a standard sales motion, buy one. Custom earns its cost at scale or with an unusual process.
CRMs fail on adoption, not features. Whichever platform you choose, the deciding factor is whether data gets in without your reps typing it — which is why we weight WhatsApp and call integration so heavily in India.
What we use
And why we picked each one.
Zoho CRM
Affordable, broad CRM suite.
WhyExcellent value for Indian SMEs, and integrates cleanly with the rest of the Zoho suite.
HubSpot
CRM with strong marketing automation.
WhyBest-in-class for inbound marketing alignment. Pricing escalates sharply as you add seats and features.
Salesforce
The enterprise CRM standard.
WhyWhere you need it — large sales organisations, complex territory rules, existing Salesforce estate. Considerable implementation cost.
Custom CRM
Built around your specific sales process.
WhyWhen per-user pricing hurts at scale, or when your process needs constant workarounds in a standard product.
WhatsApp Business API
Official WhatsApp integration.
WhyThe single highest-impact CRM integration for Indian sales teams. Conversations logged automatically against the lead.
Exotel & Knowlarity
Cloud telephony and IVR.
WhyCall logging and recording tied to the lead record, which is what makes a CRM stay current without rep effort.
How we choose
Four criteria, in this order.
Fit
Does it solve your actual problem, or a more interesting one?
Hiring pool
Could you hire for it in India if you took the project in-house?
Total cost
Licences, hosting and the operational time to run it — not just build cost.
Exit risk
How hard would it be to leave? We don't build things you can't walk away from.
Buy, for a standard B2B sales motion — Zoho or HubSpot are good and cheaper than a build. Build when per-user pricing becomes painful at scale, when your process is genuinely unusual, or when you need deep ERP integration.
Zoho for most SMEs on value and local support. HubSpot if marketing automation matters more. Custom above roughly fifty sales users, where licence costs start to dominate.
Adoption. If updating the CRM is extra work, reps won't do it and the data becomes untrustworthy within months. The fix is automatic capture — calls and WhatsApp logging themselves — not a mandate.